Happy Burdens
by Olympias13
Summary: They don't care about Sauron, they don't care about the ring, and they certainly have no ambitions to join the Fellowship. They don't even know what Middle-earth is. Still, that doesn't mean that they can't have fun and wreak havoc on the storyline.
1. Chapter 1

Hello! This story's based off of an idea that I've had stuck in my head for a while. It's a tester, so please review and tell me your thoughs and ideas? :)

The first chapter's not the best, but the story will get better once I get things settled. :)

I don' t own Lord of the Rings.

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><p>(Valerie's Point of View)<p>

"I want the window seat!" Skylar pushed past me and fell upon her desired chair. "Mine!"

Naomi tossed her oversized bag underneath her seat and plopped down, music blasting from her headphones. I swear, that woman's gonna be deaf by the time she reaches thirty.

"Brandonnn!" She called out for her terd of a cousin. "Brandon, you fat lard, hurry up! You're blocking the aisle!"

The usually macho man slowly made his way down the aisle, clutching his carry on bag to his chest. That man could eat two large pizzas by himself, drive a go-cart around like a maniac, and win fistfights against guys twice his size; but the second you get him on an airplane, he chickens out.

"Awhhh. Come on Brandy-poo. You're more likely to get your brains eaten by a zombie than to die in one of these babies." Skylar gave the wall of the plane a loving pat. Her daddy was a pilot, her granddaddy fought as a fighter pilot in WWII, and her family owns tons of mini airplanes. So, she practically grew up in the air. Hence, why her parents named her 'Sky'lar. She even had bright blue eyes to match the sky.

Brandon glared at our pretty friend. "I'm not scared." Even though he looked like he was about to pee himself.

"How old are we, ten? Get moving!" A cranky old man yelled angrily from his place behind Brandon.

Brandon huffed and took his spot next to Naomi, in their window seat. "I can't believe I let you guys talk me into this..."

"Talk you into this?" I laughed. "You were all for it when we brought up the topic of pretty French women."

For whatever reason, the girls and I decided that it'd be fun to go to France one day. We got tickets for the first flight out, and made sure to bring Brandon along. What would he do without us, anyways? All his guy friends do is drink and party. We're friends of quality; we go an sporadic vacations all the way across the globe.

"Don't worry, Brandon." Skylar smiled at our friend from over her airplane catalogue. "Just sit down and relax. It'll all be over before you know it."

Unfortunately, it all was over far sooner than we would have liked.

Nearly right off the bat, we ran into a storm that rattled and shook the plane around like a rag doll.

"Ladies and Gentlemen..." The pilot's voice came over the intercom. "We're experiencing some... Technical difficulties. Please remain seated and do not panic."

"Seriously?" Naomi was clinging onto her armrests, looking like she was about to rip someone's head off. "I didn't pay good money for technical difficulties! I wanna see Paris!"

Brandon slammed his window shut as a bolt of lightning lit up the plain. "How is this safe?"

Skylar was cuddled up in a blanket, sleeping. SLEEPING. During the worst turbulence imaginable. Honestly, nothing scared her. Roller coasters had no effect on her; she was used to the tossy-tumbly feeling you get in your stomach, because her brother was an aerobatic pilot and took her out on crazy joy rides all of the time.

Naomi, the painfully honest, music-obsesssed, 'most likely to quote a movie' red head was now holding the hand of her jerk cousin Brandon. Brandon was really a softie, he just didn't know how to express himself. He looked like he was about to cry; his number one fear was heights. His only fear was heights, really.

I took another look at Skylar as the plane jerked once again, looking for some kind of comfort, but she was still snoozing away.

Dangit.

Thunder crashed. Lightning struck. The plane went dark.

"Val?" Naomi's voice was silent, and I could barely hear her over the cries of panic emitting from the other people on the plane.

A stewardess went running down the aisle and we watched her as she quickly buckled herself into a seat and curled into a safety position. My friends and I looked at each other with tear-filled eyes.

"This is the end..." Brandon sighed, looking forward with wide, unbelieving eyes.

Naomi closed her eyes and allowed her tears to silently fall. It was so unreal. This wasn't supposed to happen... Bad things only happen to bad people... We weren't bad, we didn't deserve it.

But it was happening, whether we deserved it or not.

I searched for tears that I couldn't find, I tried to feel sad, but I didn't. It didn't feel like the end...

"Should we wake her?" Naomi asked as the plane's glide began to hit turbulence, and we began to fall at dangerous speeds.

"No..." I looked at Skylar, who was sleeping with a small smile on her face. "No... Let her die in peace..."

Brandon heaved a deep sigh and bent his head to hide his tears. Naomi reaced out over the aisle and took my hand in hers. With a tight squeeze on my hand, she spoke her final words. "Meet me on the other side?"

I took a deep breath as we neared the ground. "You bet."

Naomi smiled. Amidst the screaming and yelling of the other passengers, we found our peace.

We were ready.

.

..

.

There was no pain. My life did not flash before my eyes, and Naomi's hand was no longer in my own. But I wasn't alone.

A bright sun shone through my eyelids, and I slowly opened them. The light blinded me at first, but I soon began to make out figures in my line of sight. With one hand, I shielded myself from the sun's rays and tried to clear my vision.

Suddenly, the light left; it was not the sun, after all. Everything became clear, and I found myself lying on a cold, stone floor, with a tall stone ceiling above.

Two women and two men stood over me, watching me with a mix of curiosity and concern. They were dressed in strange clothing, and their hair was long and dark, except for an elderly man dressed in grey robes. They looked nice, but they weren't exactly the angels I was expecting.

The youngest of them all, a girl that looked to be about my age, bent down and handed me a goblet full of water. I drank it without much thought; these people looked just as confused as I was.

"Thank you..." I handed the woman the now empty goblet and looked around curiously. The room was filled with stuff that looked like it belonged to some Middle-Age noble. A big tapestry of a white tree adorned one wall, and I noticed that the tree could also be found in other items all around, including the younger man's tunic. "Uhh... Where am I?"

The elderly man offered me a hand and helped me up. "You are in Gondor, young one. What is your name?"

"Valerie." I dusted off my pants and subtly pinched myself. Yepp. I'm alive. Unfortunately, I've got no idea what Gondor is. "Where is Gondor?"

All four of my new acquaintances looked at each other, before the man turned back to me with a quizical look. "Do you not know of Gondor, Miss Valerie?" I shook my head, and he nodded. "I didn't think so... Please," He gestured towards a chair. "Sit down. If what these people have told me is true, then I believe that you're going to be a bit taken aback by what I have to tell you."

That's not the kind of thing you want to hear when you're supposed to be dead. What could be worse?

* * *

><p>(Naomi)<p>

I have to say, I'm a little peeved.

I prepared myself for the end; I went through the emotional stress of looking death right in the face. And now, I'm alive? Alive in this barren wasteland.

Well, that's a little harsh. It's not barren. It's actually pretty grassy. Still, it's all poop.

Was I in hell?

Oh well. It sucked, regardless.

I had been walking for at least an hour, and my stomach was growling up a storm. But what could I eat? The grass?

I looked down at the ocean of grass that flowed over my legs. Well... I was kind of starving. Just imagine that they're super-sized french fries... Really thin, overcooked french fries... Prairie dogs can do it! So can I!

My stomach was grumbling so loud, I couldn't even pay any attention to the pounding of hooves coming my way. With a deep breath, I swiped up a handfull of the dried grass and shoved it into my mouth. It was dirty, dusty (if that's even possible), dry, and poopy. But hey, it was better than starving! I munched on handfulls of grass until a sudden movement from behind me caught my attention.

I swung around, grass hanging from my mouth, to face a giant army of cavalry.

How'd they get there?

Their spears were relaxed, so I knew that they weren't going to kill me. I'm actually surprised that they didn't say something at first; those guys looked intimidating. Perhaps it was the image of a twenty-one year old woman wandering around alone in the middle of nowhere, munching on grass, that kept them quiet. They were probably in shock.

Quickly, I swallowed the last strands of grass and waved at the mountainous men.

"Hello!" Share the love! Don't be mean to the guys with spears!

They just continued to stare at me wordlessly. I shifted nervously from foot to foot, unsure as to what to do.

"So..." I began, trying to break the uncomfortable silence. "What brings you out here?"

More silence. Maybe they were deaf?

"Are you lost?" The guy with the coolest helmet, who I took to be their leader, finally spoke after what felt like an eternity.

Crap, they're on to me. "What makes you think that?"

I couldn't see his face underneath all that helmet, but he must have been completely confused.

"Well..." He began, hesitantly. "Your clothes are not of Middle Earth, and you were wandering around alone eating grass... It's not safe out here. Orcs are roaming these lands freely. Tell me, where are you from?"

"The U.S. of A." I shrugged. Even medieval cowboys have got to know about America. It was kind of a big deal, back in the 16th century. Even though it wasn't the USA back then... Oh well, he'll get the point.

"Ah..." He nodded, and looked around at his men for information. They all shrugged, and he turned back to me. "And where is this... Youesovay?" He blurred in 'U.S. of A' into one word.

Okay. So maybe he has no idea what I'm talking about. They haven't killed me, yet. I think that I'm gonna be alright.

"Okay, I'm lost." I admitted. I'd be screwed if these guys left me out here, alone. "Can you take me to the nearest city?" I'll get information on my whereabouts, there. There's no way that I'm on Earth, anymore.

The captain moved his horse forward slightly, and he held a hand out for me. "I would be happy to help you find your way home. Tell me, what is your name?"

"Naomi!" I smiled proudly when I managed to climb up onto his horse, behind him.

"That's an odd name... But lovely, all the same. I am Prince Theodred, of Rohan."

Humph. Prince or not, his name is worse than mine.

* * *

><p>.<p>

(Skylar)

I love naps.

I was nice, warm, and comfy, cuddled up with my blanket on solid ground. It wasn't where I fell asleep, on the plane, but hey. I'm not complaining. My nap was simply marvelous!

With a yawn, I opened my eyes to a rather unhappy sight.

A man (handsome, but smelly) was sleeping right in front of my face, snoring softly.

HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?

Well, I did what any normal person would do in that situation.

I screamed.

Right in his eardrum.

"HELP!" I shot up and fell right back down, tangled up in my blanket. The man sprung up, weilding a big, scary sword, ready to attack. His gaze fell onto me and he lowered his weapon.

"Milady?" He tried to help me get free from my monster blanket, but I kicked him away. "Milady, stop thrashing about!"

"Help! I've been kidnapped by a Renaissance sex trafficker and he's gonna sell me for marijuana!"

The man took a step back, shock written all over his face. "Milady, are you mad?"

"I'm not your lady!" Finally, I managed to get out of my blanket and I stood to run away.

Of course, the scary drug dealer grabbed my wrist, bringing me to a stop.

"Who are you, what are you doing in my camp?" He asked, rather sternly.

I tried to wriggle free of his grasp, but the man's strong. "Get off of me, you perv! Help!"

"Be quiet!" He whisper-yelled. "Do you want to attract the attention of every orc in Middle-earth?"

"You're crazy! Let me go!"

"Milady!"

I tried to kick him, but he dodged my blow. "I am not your lady! You are the worst pimp daddy I've ever seen!"

The man's patience had reached its limit. In the blink of an eye, he pushed on my pressure point and knocked me out cold.

.

.

When I finally awoke, it was daylight. My hands were tied together, and I was covered in my blanket, and I was laying on some sort of sleeping mat. A cloak was bunched up underneath my head as a pillow, and if it wasn't for the fact that my hands were bound, I'd be pretty comfy.

My eyes searched the small clearing and landed on the man from the night before. He was smoking an old-fashioned pipe, as he poked at some sort of dead animal that he had placed above the fire to cook. I noticed that he wasn't wearing a cloak, and realized that his cloak was now being used as my pillow.

"This cloak of yours makes a nice pillow." I commented, deciding to take a more friendly approach today. I had come to the conclusion that something crazy had happened, and this was no longer my world. At least, I hoped it wasn't After all, who says 'milady' anymore? As for this man, he definately wasn't a pimp-daddy. Or a drug dealer.

Well, he might be a drug dealer. I don't know what he's smoking in that pipe!

He looked over to me at the sound of my voice. "It is a very good pillow." All was silent for a short moment. "Are you going to kick and scream, again?" The man asked.

"Are you going to kill me?" That's the only thing I really cared about.

The man turned back to the fire and poked at the roasting animal with a stick. "Of course not."

Woo! "Then we're good! Hi, I'm Skylar."

I could see a small smile cross the man's face. "It's nice to meet you, Skylar."

Awkward silence. "Well, aren't you gonna tell me your name?" I asked after a while.

He seemed to consider this for a moment. "You may call me Strider."

"But that's not your real name?"

Strider shrugged. "Technically, no."

I frowned. "I don't like Strider. It's not a very happy name."

"You may call me Thorongil, then."

"Ew, that's even worse."

Strider-Thorongil furrowed his eyebrows. "Estel?"

I wrinkled my nose. "That's a girl's name!" Strider looked like he wanted to protest, but he remained silent. Suddenly, a great idea popped into my head. "You look like a William."

That got his attention. "William?"

I smiled. "Yepp! That's your new name! It's payback for knocking me out, last night."

Willy thought this over for a second, an unhappy look on his face. Finally, he sighed in defeat.

"Fair enough."

"Yayyyy!" I cheered. Then, the silence came back. Well. This sucks.

"Hey, William? Can you untie me, now?"

* * *

><p>*Author's Note*<p>

Question: What pairings would please you? :) Let me know!

I don't know what I'm gonna do with Brandon. I'm thinking about killing him off. Anyways. Ideas!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2.

Let me know your thoughts on anything and everything, including future pairings. This story is kind of a relaxer from my other two, I plan to just go crazy with it.

Then again, that was my intention for my second story, This is Home... And now I'm obsessed with making it perfect.

Anyways, let me know your thoughts on future pairings? I'm atually thinking about pairing Aragorn up with Skylar, but I'm kind of afraid to even try. Those stories are hard to pull off. For her, it's between Legolas, Aragorn, and Faramir.

This chapter... It's not my best work. I'm getting things settled, so it's not the most entertaining. The next chapter will be great, though. I've got some good ideas. :)

Please review; it means a lot. :)

I don't own Lord of the Rings.

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><p>(Valerie)<p>

Everyone watched me carefully, expecting me to break down at any second.

"Huh..."

Gandalf, the old wizard, raised an eyebrow at me. "Huh?"

I shrugged. "Gee wiz?" I know that they were probably expecting me to at least cry, but I just wasn't feeling it. "I don't see the problem, here."

Evidently, I had just randomly appeared in this house in a country called Gondor, which just about scared the living crap out of these people. They ran to get Gandalf, a traveling wizard who happened to be in town. Gandalf told me that I would never get back home, yaddayaddaya, my friends were probably dead, ect, ect.

But I wasn't complaining. I was alive! And I'm almost positive that my friends are alive somewhere, too. I'd count myself lucky; I've got a second chance at life.

"If what you told us is true, then you are dead in your world, with no hopes of returning, does that not upset you at all?" Gandalf looked like he hardly believed my lack of concern.

But what was there to be upset about? "Well, if you haven't already noticed, I'm kind of alive..."

"Are you not worried about your friends? The family you left behind?" Mirima, the mother of this small, noble household looked at me in disbelief. I had only known this woman for about two hours, and I could already tell that she was the motherly type. After Gandalf confirmed that I was from another world, and that my friends and family were lost to me, Mirima automatically began to baby me and try to comfort me. I liked her a lot; she seemed like the ideal mother figure.

If I thought she was babying me now, imagine how she's going to react after I tell her all about my family life back home.

"I was an only child." I began. "My parents died from an illness when I was eight. Ever since then, I lived with my Grandma and unemployed uncle. About a year ago, she died from old age, so now I live with my best friend Naomi. Well... I did live with her." My life wasn't too bad, I was content. Still, Mirima was a nurturer at heart, it was obvious.

The woman's sad expression showed her sympathy. "That's a shame... You, growing up without a proper family. I can't imagine how hard that would be for you as a child."

"Aye, it is a shame." Added her husband, Arthion. He's a high-up soldier in Gondor's army, and of noble birth. Whatever that means. "Perhaps you should remain here, with us."

Uhh... What? Did he just suggest I move in? Is my life really gonna work out so well?

Dang. This is just like a princess story. Only... No prince?

Dear life, please give me a prince. Sincerely, Princeless.

"So, what do you say?" Mirima's voice tore me away from the imaginary prince that I had been conjuring up in my head.

I looked to Nariel, Mirima's daughter, who just so happened to be my age. If girls here in Middle-earth were anything like the girls back home, this chick wouldn't be too thrilled if I just came in and took over her territory. Then again, I came from a really snooty town. Luckily, Nariel looked perfectly content; happy, even. Maybe she was sick of being an only child?

I'm an only child, I know how much it sucks.

"I say... Thank you." A smile crossed my lips. "It's really more than I deserve, but I really appreciate it. I don't want to be a burden, though..."

"Nonsense!" Mirima's smile had grown, and she looked thrilled to have another daughter. "We always wanted more children, and we've got more than enough money to support you. We're more than happy to take care of you."

Wow. These people are nice. If someone randomly popped up in my uncle's house, he'd get his gun and shoot the poor thing. He's rather eccentric, to tell you the truth. Ever since Grandma died, he's been traveling America, looking for Bigfoot. He also claims to have been abducted by aliens on multiple occasions, and he also says that he used to work as a spy for the government, until he discovered a government conspiracy and had to go into hiding. I have no idea what this has to do with anything, but I thought you'd like to know.

"Well, it's settled, then." Gandalf smiled and began making his way to the door. "It was nice meeting you, Miss Valerie. I'll keep in contact with you, if you don't mind. Your situation is rather... Strange."

"That's cool!" I waved goodbye to the wizard. He seems pretty cool, and after all, who wouldn't want a wizard friend?

Once Gandalf left, it was just me and my new family. We all stood in silence for a moment, unsure as to how to go about this whole thing. It's not every day a woman from another world materializes in your living room, and it's definitely not every day that you die in a plane crash and get sent to a medieval dimension.

So, the awkward silence continued.

This is going to be interesting.

* * *

><p>(Naomi)<p>

How do men do this?

We'd been riding our horses ALL DAY. My crotch was on fire. Saddles need padding, end of story.

"I've got to peeeeeeee!" Really, I just needed a breather from that dang horse. "Help!"

Theodred laughed at me.

I respect that.

"We're almost there, Lady Naomi!"

Grumble mumble... We were almost there three hours ago!

"If I have to sit on this horse for another minute, you will be feeling my wrath!" If my mind was in its right place, I probably wouldn't be speaking to a prince in such a way. But, of course, my mind isn't doing too well. I have died, fallen into a medieval world, eaten grass, and I've fallen off of a horse twice in the past twenty-four hours. If that's not enough to make me insane, I don't know what is. It's bad enough that I fell off of a horse when I had a perfectly good man sitting in front of me to hold onto. Hey, I didn't want to give him the wrong idea by squeezing onto his waist; I don't know what these guys do on their weekends. He could be a total perv. Unfortunately, though, after the second fall, I almost got trampled by another horse, and Theodred thought that it would be best if I sat in front of him so _he_ could be the one with a firm hold on _me._

Well, if it keeps me from getting beaten into the ground by a giant horse, I'm happy.

The men pushed their horses to a run as we climbed over a tall hill, and the sight that met us was a sight I'll always remember.

Standing in the middle of a plains was a massive city, placed on an even bigger hill. Houses of all shapes and sizes were scattered along the hill, all leading up to a large building with a golden roof, at the very edge of the cliff side. A tall wooden wall lined the entire city. Mountains lined the background, and the bright blue sky made the white peaks stand out. It was like I walked right into a fairytale...

Maybe...

Nahh...

My aching body went numb, and all I could focus on was the massive, beautiful city. The closer and closer we got, the smaller and smaller I felt. The walls got bigger, and it all became very real; before, it was just a pretty thing to look at, like a painting. My nerves were getting to me, as well. Now, I'll have to somehow find out how to make a living here, in order to survive. By the looks of it, though, as we entered the city and rode to the stables, women were housewifes.

Great, so now I've gotta get married.

Poop.

So, from what I can see, all of the men here are soldiers of some kind, or a farmer. This place was rustic, and very old-timey. Women wore dresses, and the men were buff.

I like it!

The soldiers took their horses into the stables, and Theodred helped me down from the horse. He took his helmet off, revealing a handsome face. I'd say that he's in his thirties. A bit out of my age range. Ohhh darn.

"You're going to stand out, here, with clothes like that, and with hair like fire." He said as he steadied me once I dismounted the giant monster that was his horse.

Self-conciously, I tugged on my red curls, suddenly hating having red hair in a place full of blondes. "It's not that red..." That was a lie. My hair was a deep red; fortunately, I wassn't covered in freckles.

Theodred chuckled and held his arm out for me. Classy! He led me up the steps, to the large building with the gold room; I assumed that this was the palace. A beautiful blonde woman (not very specific, because all of these people were blonde) was standing at the top of the steps, smiling brightly at the prince. Lady friend?

"Cousin!" She called out and held her arms out to hug him.

I guess she's not his lady friend.

The woman turned her gaze the me, then moved to give her cousin a curious look. "And who might this be, Theodred?"

"Eowyn, this is Naomi. We found her wandering the plains, far from any village, eating grass."

If he wasn't a prince, I'd punch him right in the gut. "Don't you dare judge me. I was lost, hungry, and alone. Give me a break. I'm supposed to be dead, anyways."

The two cousins gaped at me.

"Dead?" Eowyn gave me a look that suggested that I'd grown another head. "Was your village raided by orcs?"

"Nope. I fell out of the sky."

Now, it was Theodred's turn to stare at me awkwardly. "Out of the sky?"

Well, these people are gonna think I'm crazy. "Yes." I sighed. "I died in my world, and ended up in the middle of nowhere."

Yepp. Their looks suggested that I was completely insane.

"You guys, I'm not crazy. I can prove it." I reached into the pocket of my sweatpants and pulled out my prized posession: my I-Pod. I'd made sure to keep it safe on the ride here, knowing that I'd want it later. When the screen lit up, Eowyn and Theodred jumped. Instead of blasting my music for them, I decided to simply show them some pictures. After all, I didn't want to scare them too much.

They gasped as I pulled up a picture of Valerie playing Rummy with Brandon and Skylar in the airport, just hours before our deaths. Next, I pulled up a picture of the Seattle space needle, then the Eiffel Tower, and the Great Pyramids, and so on and so forth.

"Incredible..." Theoden went to touch the screen, but I jerked it away. "Nope! Not for you! This is my most prized posession; if it gets broken, I'll die." Gently, I placed it back into my pocket, pleased with the job I'd done with convincing them. "So. Believe me now?"

Eowyn suddenly gave Theodred a slap to the arm. "Shame on you, cousin! Finding this poor woman eating grass, and not giving her a proper meal!" Actually, he did give me some food, but there was no sense in arguing. I'll take all the food I can get. Eowyn smiled at me and took my arm. "It will be good to have another woman around; someone who hasn't been touched by the darkness of this world."

Darkness of this world... That's not very comforting.

"Come." Eowyn tugged on my arm. "Let us go get you something good to eat. I want to hear all about your world."

I like this Eowyn. Anyone who gives me food is a friend of mine.

* * *

><p>(Skylar)<p>

William's not much of a talker.

You see, we'd been walking for quite some time now, and he has yet to say anything to me. The man doesn't even go on potty breaks, which I found quite odd. Everybody poops... Unless you're William. William just kills helpless bunnies for food.

Willy took me to this really nice place, though. It's called Rivendell, and it's full of really pretty people with pointy ears. Evidently, they were elves, but I wasn't seeing it. They were nothing like the elves from Harry Potter, and those were the only elves I cared about. I don't know, these people kind of creep me out. They glide everywhere, and hardly any of them know my language. I felt like speaking in French, just to tick them off, but then I realized that my logic made no sense. They didn't even understand english, why would I need to confuse them with French?

Heck, I don't even know French.

"Lord Elrond." William led me to another pointy-eared alien with a prominent forehead. This guy looked really stressed, like he wanted to knock someone's teeth out.

I know just the remedy!

"Skylar!" William was in total shock, as well as Elrond, as I hugged the pointy-eared man's torso.

The 'elf' looked down at me for a moment, looking confused and unsure as to what to do.

"How are you, sir?" I asked, happily. My Grandma always told me that we need to do all we can to make others happy. Sometimes, all a person needs is a hug, just to know that someone cares.

I care about everyone, and hugs make me happy.

The elf slowly returned my hug with a pat on my back. "I am well... Who are you?"

William gently pulled me away from the man he called Elrond. "This is Skylar. As you can see, she is a little... Peculiar."

"Awhh, Willy." I frowned at the ranger. "I thought we were friends, and now you're calling me weird? Bad form, laddie, bad form."

Elrond watched me curiously. "And where did you find her? Where did she come from?"

William shrugged. "She appeared at my campsite, screaming and accusing me of kidnapping her. She doesn't know how she got there, either; nor is she aware of the countries or histories of this world. If you ask me... I'd say she's not from our world."

I love how they're talking about me like I'm not even here.

"This is very odd..." Elrond turned and began to pace. "What do you suggest we do with her?"

Am I some kind of dog to them?

"I was hoping that you may let her stay here, until I can come back and escort her to either Rohan or Gondor." William suggested. "I could not take her to Bree; it is not the proper place for a lady."

"You're leaving me, Willy?" Although I didn't really know him, William was pretty cool. He's the kind of guy that you can trust with your life, and to be quite honest, I was feeling a bit lonely, without my friends.

"I will come back for you." William gave me a comforting smile. "And stop calling me William, please. Just call me Aragorn. It is my real name, after all."

Suddenly, it all hit me. Aragorn, Rivendell, Elrond...

I had fallen into a book.

* * *

><p>This chapter kind of sucks. I always hate the first two or three chapters, because you've gotta get the foundations of the story set, and it's always hard to make it entertaining. I want to make it realistic (well, as realistic as a fanfiction can get). I PROMISE that the next chapter will be way better, because I'll actually get the plot going. So please keep reviewing! :)<p> 


	3. Chapter 3: Of Beauty and Men

Metoochocolate It's both movie and book verse. She mentioned that she fell into a book and not a movie for no real reason, just because it was a book, first.

Ravenna.B I am actually ridiculously happy that you mentioned Fangorn... :)

This is where the story actually gets going. I thought about deleting this story, but then during my classes today I came up with some great ideas, and I'm really pumped for them. :)

This chapter was getting rather long, so I didn't get to fit in a lot of the good parts that I was excited about, but I hope that you'll agree when I say that this chapter is far better than the past two. Skylar's point of view is rather lacking, since I'm no fan of writing about the elves, but other than that, the rest is good! :)

And please tell me your opinions on pairings and such. It's kind of an important part of the story, you know.

I don't own Lord of the Rings.

* * *

><p>(Brandon)<p>

Okay, so I'm in hell.

Well, it's just a guess, really. This place isn't exactly fire and brimstone.

It's a rather pleasant hell, if that's even possible. Instead of a big pit of fire, I was thrown into a nice little forest. By nice and little, I mean massive and terrifying.

I am dirty, smelly, hungry, and tired. But at least I'm not on fire!

It felt like there was no way out of here. I've been walking for a day and a half (a guess; I can hardly see the sun in this place), and I haven't found any water source. In order to survive, I've got to eat tiny plants and grass. A terrible source of nutrition, but it's either suck it up and eat grass or die.

Trust me, this is the last place you want to die. It's a dark and dreary place, and I've got the strangest feeling that I'm not alone. The trees seem to talk, it's almost like they're actually alive in a human sense. My only plan is to keep walking in a straight line, and hopefully I'll get out of here, soon. The faster I get out of this forest, the sooner I can find the nearest city and get some real food. What I wouldn't give for some steak right now... Speaking of steak...

A cute little critter just scuttered into my vision. Meat!

I am man, and man likes meat. I shall not rest until that adorable little fur ball is roasted and in my belly.

Unfortunately, that little booger had another idea. It ran right over to a tree and ran straight to the top. Must've heard the grumbling of my stomach...

It's clever, I'll give it that, but I have two things that that sucker doesn't. An empty stomach and a whole lot of determination. And thumbs. Three things!

So, I did what any hungry man would do in this situation. I began to climb that damn tree to get to my meal.

The bark was rough, and cut my hands, but the pain faded away; all of my focus was on getting that tasty little furball into my rumbling stomach.

"Come here little fuzz ball... I'm not gonna hurt you..." Slowly, I climbed out onto the branch where the tiny animal was perched. "I just want to eat you... It's for a good cause!" Just as I nearly had it in my grasps, the unthinkable happened.

The tree moved.

With a loud rumbling, and the sound of cracking branches, the little woodland creature was flung to the ground, and I clung to the monster tree for dear life. A massive wooden hand reached out and grabbed me by the waist, easily plucking me off of its branch and lifting me into the sky. The tree trunk came into view, and a pair of large eyes studied me curiously.

A tree with eyes?

"Help!" I called out, but who would be there to answer? The only other living thing around was that poor creature that I had just tried to eat, and I'm sure that it was still too upset with me to help me. Besides, what could save me from an up and running tree?

A giant leg covered in roots rose into the air, and landed right on top of my intended meal.

A loud humming sound emitted from the oversized tree, and a deep, grumbling voice rang through the forest.

"Whoo are youu?" The words were dragged out, and I could do nothing but stare.

This tree was walking, talking... Breathing... My nerves were too shook up for me to even think. My heart had stopped, and I could hardly breathe. It was like I had been paralyzed, unable to even speak.

The voice rang out again. "Whoo are youuu?"

My voice came back to me at the realization that this tree could probably squash me like a spider.

"Brandon Kingsley... Who are you?" It wouldn't hurt to be polite; this tree did have my life in his hands. Literally. His grasp was all but crushing my ribs.

"They call me... Treebeard..." He made that odd humming sound once more. "What is a man doing in Fangorn? Come to destroy these trees for your cities? Come to set a fire to us so you may take our land?" The tree man sounded rather pissed. I hope that he hadn't seen me eating plants earlier...

"Why would I want to kill all of these trees?" Especially now. I'm gonna feel bad every time I light a fire, now that I've talked to what I'm burning. It's like naming the cow before making it a hamburger.

Treebeard's wooden face crunched into what looked like a frown. "Men do not come to the forest for no reason..." He hummed and huffed as he continued to move forward through the forest. "They come to kill us and burn us for their own gain."

"Well that's terrible!" I exclaimed, trying to get on the tree's good side.

Surprisingly, he looked at me with a shocked expression. "You think so?"

"Well, yeah!" It's not like I was lying. Now that I know these trees can walk and talk, deforestation has just reached a whole new level. "If men really want cities so badly, they can make them out of stone!"

And it's a statement like that that sends a giant mutant tree into a frenzy about men and their disrespect for nature.

It's gonna be a long day.

* * *

><p>(Valerie)<p>

"Stop! Stop! I can't breathe!" I've changed my mind. I do NOT want to go out today. I don't ever want to go out! Not if I have to be strangled by this bloody contraption that they call the corset. "Take it off! Take it off!"

But Mirima would have none of it. "Valerie, you've got to be introduced into society at some point!" She continued to pull on the laces of the corset, making it even harder to breathe.

Okay, so it's not like it was this terrible contraption. It's just foreign and uncomfortable.

"Goodness, girl." Mirima tied the laces together and took a step back to survey her handiwork. "You need to lose some weight."

"Hey!" I turned to my new mother figure with a frown. "I am not fat!"

"No, you're not." Mirima raised the pretty blue dress I was to wear over my head, and helped me to finish getting dressed. "But you are certainly unhealthy. What were you eating back in your world?"

With a guilty sigh, I looked down, ashamed. "Highly processed foods and lots of grease and sugar..."

She blinked at me, and shook her head. "It's going to be no easy task to find a husband for you..."

I shuddered. Ever since my arrival, Mirima has been blabbing on about me finding a man. These people clearly don't know anything about women's rights.

"What's so special about today, anyways?" In the two weeks I've been here, Arthion had made sure to teach me all I needed to know about Gondor. He's pretty far up there in the nobility, and he's also high up in whatever military organization these people have.

So, evidently we're in a city called Minas Tirith. And it's huge. One day, Arthion took me on a small tour of the city, just so I could get the idea of how massive this place is. It's extremely beautiful, too. We live on the sixth level, so I've got a first-class view of the city from my bedroom.

Also, we just so happen to be neighbors with this bad guy, Sauron. Mordor is his realm, and you can see the volcano's creepy red glow right over the mountains. Creepy, but oddly beautiful. Red skies are my favorite.

Okay, I'm done with my pondering. Back to reality.

Nariel, who had been sitting by the window silently, finally entered the conversation.

"The Steward's sons are returning home from Osgiliath, and we must welcome them home properly."

Ohh, yes. The Steward's sons. Nariel is acquainted with them, but she won't tell me if they're cute or not. I think she doesn't care about them whatsoever. If I've gathered anything in my time here, it's that Nariel is too restless to be a noble woman, and she's far more down to earth than any of the nobles I've met.

Mirima nodded and smiled; far more proud of the two Captains than her dear daughter. "Our dear Boromir is a hero. He and Faramir have been defendiing Osgiliath for years now, against all odds. Yet they still manage to emerge victorious." Yeah, Boromir's like Hercules to these people. "Well. Are you girls ready to go?"

Nariel sighed and stood from her cushioned chair by the window. "I am as ready as I will ever be." Goodness. Just a ray of sunshine, that one. She really is a nice girl, I don't know why she seems so down all the time. She sure is good at faking happiness, though.

Arthion met us at the front door, and we walked down our street and up to the seventh level, where the nobles would be greeting the returning heroes. The view from here was even more breathtaking than the view from the sixth level, I can promise you that.

"Remember what I told you..." Mirima whispered in my ear, as the trumpets sounded, signaling the return of our soldiers. "Curtsey, and smile."

Curtsey. Smile. Got it. Dang, it's easy to be a woman, here. That's all I ever have to do whenever I'm introduced to new people. Curtsey, and smile. Yeahhh buddy.

We could hear the cheering of the lower levels as the soldiers came riding into the city. Everyone was ecstatic to be welcoming home their heroes. Everyone except for me. My excitement was far less than the other citizens, seeing as how I have no idea how this whole 'war' stuff works in this world. War has never been close to home for me, but for these people, the enemy was right on their doorstep.

The pounding of hooves slowly came to our ears as the soldiers reached the sixth level, and continued on to the seventh. The distant sound grew closer and closer, until finally the first horse made its way up the stairs to the top level. My vision was stuck on the odd white tree in the middle of the courtyard; it's super pretty, even if it is dead. I'm a fan of the trees.

"Val!" Nariel gave me a light jab in the ribs. "Pay attention!"

My gaze moved to the horses, only to land on possibly the most beautiful man I've ever seen.

He was riding at the head of the group, a bright and proud smile dominating his features. There's no way to describe him... Everyone's eyes were on him, like he was some sort of God. Flowers were being thrown in his path, and women were swooning over him.

So this is the famous Boromir...

My heart sank a little bit. There's no way that I even stood a chance. He did not even look my way as he went by on his horse. Disappointed, I looked down to my feet, trying to forget the handsome man.

Nariel saw this and gave me a small smile. "Do not worry yourself over him, Valerie. The man is nearly forty, and he hasn't so much as looked at any women. Besides, I am sure that he did not even see you in such a large crowd..."

Huh. I didn't even think of that. It's not like we're in the first row or anything. Why should he notice me? This ain't Romeo and Juliet, and I'm definately no Elizabeth Taylor. Man, that woman's beautiful.

If I'm gonna make a good impression on the Steward's son, it'll have to be at the formal celebration tonight.

* * *

><p>(Skylar)<p>

"Milady... What are you doing?" A passing-by elf wacthed me curiously as I attemted to make myself a pair of elf-ears out of clay.

Some elf-maiden had been kind enough to give me some of the mushy stuff after she caught me doodling with ink in the library. Elves were big promoters of the arts.

"I'm making me some pointy ears! What are you doing?"

"I am wondering how you plan on attatching those contraptions to your real ears." The blonde elf stood over me, now, studying my work. "They don't even match your skin color, you know."

I rolled my eyes. "Ohhh, okay, Mr. Smarty Pants. I didn't realize that you were a fashion critic. In case you haven't noticed, I don't exactly have much to work with, and I've been working hard on this. So, I can do without your criticism, if you don't mind."

The elf tried to hide his humored smile, and sat down across the table from me. "Forgive me, milady, I did not mean to upset you. I shall just watch you quietly, then." And so he did sit and watch me, but he wasn't quiet for long. "Why are you doing this, exactly?" He asked.

"Because. I've got nothing better to do. Why are you so set on watching me?"

He shrugged. "Because I've got nothing better to do."

Smart ass...

Dang it! Why have I been so cranky lately? I'm not usually mean at all! There was something about these elves that just made me uncomfortable. Ever since my arrival here, I have found it most difficult to socialize with the elf kind. It's odd. Back home, I was a social butterfly. No one could scare me away. Now, with these beings of grace and beauty surrounding me, I feel as though I don't belong.

And I certainly don't.

I ignored the elf in front of me and tried to focus on the detail of the elf ears. Really, I didn't intend on wearing them. I just wanted to sculpt some ears. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get the details right, and the pointy ear ended up looking like a deformed leave. I sat for a moment, staring at it, frustration building up within me.

I'm one of those artists that likes to make things look good, and when things don't go my way, I destroy it.

Without a word, I brought my fist down on the clay, smashing it into a pancake.

"Was it not to your liking?" Mr. Smartypants had an annoying smirk on his face, but I was determined to remain calm and kind.

"What's your name?" I asked, while I began to morph the clay into an elephant.

"Glorfindel." Hey, I've heard of him!

My brother was the fan of Tolkien's work, not me. The only reason I knew about it at all was because I loved my brother, and listened to his Lord of the Rings rants. I had never watched the movies, which is odd, because I watch far too many movies. I SHOULD have been most likely to quote a movie back in high school, but Naomi bribed people so she could win it.

She'll deny it to her grave, but there's no other way that I could have lost that vote!

"Hi, I'm Skylar!" I gave the book character a smile. My brother had mentioned Glorfindel once or twice, mostly after he watched the movies. He was kind of bummed, because evidently, they cut Glorfindel out of the movies completely, giving his roles to some lady. "What can I do for you?"

"Elrond sent me for you." Glorfindel stood, and pushed his chair in. "He would like for you to meet his daughter, Arwen. She has recently returned home from Lothlorien, and Elrond believes that you two would get along quite well. I am to take you to her."

Arwen... Why does that name sound familiar?

If you haven't noticed already, I don't know much about Lord of the Rings. I'm just the victim of a ranting brother.

Anyways, Glorfindel did as he was told and escorted me to a small courtyard, where a beautiful elf maiden sat, reading a giant book.

"Lady Arwen." Glorfindel bowed, so I found it necessary to give the pretty lady a small curtsey. "May I introduce Miss Skylar."

"Hello!" I gave her a smile.

Arwen smiled back, but remained seated. "Father told me of you... You're not going to hug me, are you?"

What am I, the plague? These elves avoided me like I had herpes, or something.

"No, I only hug people when they look sad. You're good."

Glorfindel left us, then, and we were met with an awkward silence.

What do elf maidens talk about?

"So." I began slowly, unsure as to what I should say, first. "How do you feel about global warming?"

She looked at me like I'd grown another head. "Global what?"

Ohhh... Awkward.

"Wellllll will you look at the time!" I looked at my invisible watch. "I've got to be going, now. It's been great talking to you!"

With a salute, I ran away like the coward I was.

I don't know what it is about elves that makes me so uncomfortable, but I'm determined to become the ultimate social recluse of the century.

* * *

><p>(Naomi)<p>

"So..." Theodred studied the cards in his hands, focusing with great intensity. "Do you possess any... Kings?"

With a sigh, I rolled my eyes and face-palmed. "No, Theodred. I do not have any Kings. Go fish." That man just doesn't understand the concept of Go-Fish. All he ever does is ask for Kings, like that's the most important card in the world. It's safe to say that he's losing.

Eowyn was getting way into it, though, showing a competitive side of her that scared the living daylights out of me. I picked Go-Fish for that very reason; I figured that it would be a nice, calming game for Eowyn. Instead, she jumped into this game with as much ferocity as she did the others I showed her. There is one game that I have sworn to never play with her again, and that game is RISK. I had made a board out of a map of Middle-earth that Theodred had given me, and I thought that it'd be an interesting game.

Interesting was an understatement.

Theodred and Eowyn absolutely got into it. There was a great amount of yelling and plotting involved, both of my friends bribing me to be on their side. I was forced to quit, not wanting to pick sides with either royal, for fear of getting my head chopped off.

These people of Rohan don't mess around.

Of course, we played all of these games in Theodred's private study. The King was a little detatched from the world at present, and his advisor, Grima, was a total creeper. We preferred to have him out of our sights.

So, now we sat, angrily playing a child's game of cards.

That is, we were playing a game of cards, until there was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" Yelled Theodred, who was victoriously laying out a pair of kings, having drawn a king from the deck. "I have won!"

"A pair of kings does not win the game, Theodred." I sighed. "You need to get rid of all of your cards."

The prince looked down angrily at his cards. "What?"

The door opened, and our visitor entered the room, causing Eowyn to spring up, a look of pure happiness on her face.

"Eomer!" She ran and gave the man a big bear hug.

Theodred set down his cards and stood to do the same. "It has been a long time, cousin! How was your patrol?"

The man, Eomer, I presume, smiled at his family. A rather lovely smile, I might add...

"It went very well, actually. Hardly an orc in sight." His gaze moved to me, suddenly, and his hazel eyes met my green ones. "Theodred, Eowyn... Who's your friend?"

Theodred turned to me, and beckoned for me to stand up and come forward. "Cousin, this is our new charge, Miss Naomi. Naomi, this is Eowyn's brother, Eomer."

Eomer was a tall, handsome young man, with long, wavy, dirty blonde hair, and did I mention that he's handsome? Becase he is. So. Very. Handsome.

And why haven't I been told about this brother, before?

"Ah..." Eomer continued to look at me. Well, he was looking at my hair. "And where are you from, Lady Naomi?"

"You're not going to believe this, Eomer..." Eowyn spoke for me. "She is from another world, far more advanced than our own. Theodred found her in the middle of nowhere, and brought her here. When we learned of her situation, we had to take her in. After all, she did die in her own world."

"Died?" Eomer's eyes widened.

I quickly tried to change the subject. I didn't want to think about it; I didn't want to think about my old friends. If I did, I'd just get depressed and miss them.

"Yes, I was dead, but I am alright now. Anyways!" My attempt at a conversation change.

"Tell me, Miss Naomi." Eomer began, thankfully, changing the subject. "Does everyone have such a fiery head of hair?"

Ohh my goodness. If one more person goes on about my hair, I'm gonna shoot something. Honestly, I've seen some people with reddish hair, here. Red-heads can't be that hard to find!

"No, Mr. Eomer. People in my world are just like people in your world. Ony fatter." Thank you, fast food.

There was a rather awkward silence after that last remark. Fat people are rather unheard of, here. Sure, they've got their tubbs and their flubbs, here, but it's rare.

"Well..." Eomer began, a cute little smile on his face. "Shall we go celebrate?"

I will soon find out that Eomer is one heck of a celebrater.


	4. Chapter 4: Friendships and Hangovers

It has been a painfully long time since I've updated this. I'm not sure about it, really. But I have to thank you guys for your ridiculously kind reviews. Especially meriland25 - your review about killed my heart with happiness.

I am rewriting the first three chapters, but I'm not going ot change anything. I'm just making them more loveable, is all. I feel a lot better about most of this chapter. I already have the next one planned! I wish that I could have managed to put the two chapters together, but then that'd be about seven thousand words, and that's tiring for me!

Anyways, I hope you guys like this!

A woman came up to me today. She gave me a flower ring and told me, 'This isa flower, and it's to help you remember how you are now; blossoming in Christ.'

I don't know if you guys are Christians or what, but I think we can all agree that that was beautiful.

I don't own Lord of the Rings.

* * *

><p>(Skylar)<p>

I felt like I was a five year old that just got caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar. Elrond's study was nice and quiet, but too quiet for my tastes; especially because he was studying me intently.

"Miss Skylar, why is it you are so determined to avoid all contact with society?" Elrond asked me like a disappointed parent from the other side of his desk.

"Good question..." Why _was_ I terrified of these elves?

Maybe it's because they just don't _feel_ real. They're like unicorns. When you don't see one, you want them to be real, but I'm pretty sure that if any of us saw a _real_ unicorn it'd stab us with its horn.

And believe me, you don't want to be stabbed. It hurts enough to get stabbed by a pencil, I can't even imagine how much it'd hurt to get stabbed with a horn- a MAGICAL horn.

"So?" Elrond raised his eyebrow at me. Oh, the ever-raised eyebrow of Elrond...

"Soooo...? Can I go now?" Please say yes, please say yes.

The elf lord sighed and rubbed his temple. "Skylar..."

"That's a no..." I frowned.

"Skylar, you would not be so unhappy if you would at least make an _attempt_ at getting to know those around you."

"Hey, I'm quite happy, thank you very much!" I just don't like being around elves, is all. Who would be? Unless you're Aragorn, of course, but that's only because the author made him that way.

Elrond sighed once more and shook his head. "One must simply ask to receive, Skylar."

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" These elves with their fancy ways of speaking. It's like these people will die if they say something that makes sense.

"It means, Skylar, that if you do not wish to reside with the elves, we would be more than happy to take you to a place more suitable for you."

Like the carnival? "What places would you have in mind?"

Elrond studied me for a short moment. "You look like one who could be from Rohan."

I searched my mind for anything my brother would have said about Rohan, but nothing came up. My brother was mostly interested in elves, to be honest.

"Where's Rohan?"

"It is a land to the south, where the people have fair hair, and horses are prized posessions."

Hmmmmmm...

A knock on the door nearly made me pee myself. "Hellooo?" I called.

An old, hairy man popped his head in the door. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Gandalf!" Elrond smiled and moved for the door. "We were not expecting you for quite some time. What brings you here?"

The two men hugged.

Why doesn't Elrond greet me like that?

"I am in search for some information, and I was hoping that I might find some in your libraries." The old man looked over Elrond's shoulder and gave me a smile. "Another human?"

Elrond turned back to me with a sigh of exasperation. "Yes, our latest addition. Skylar, I would like for you to meet Gandalf the Grey."

"Hello!" I smiled and waved at him. This guy actually felt semi-normal, like he actually had a human bone in his body.

"Hello." He smiled back. "What brings you here?"

"Aragorn found her." Elrond stated simply. "She's not exactly from our world, it seems, so we are trying to find her a suitable home among men. She does not fare well with elves, unfortunately."

No I do not, and I will happily admit to that.

"I will happily escort her to a more suitable environment, once I am finished here."

Gandalf is officially my hero. I'm sticking to him.

"Do you really want such a burden?" Elrond raised his eyebrow- the main reason he has wrinkles.

"Burden?" I frowned. "It's not my fault you elves are total meaners! All you do is talk about me like I'm not here, and criticize my attempts to make elf ears. I appreciate what y'all have done for me, but let's face it. I'm crazy. I just don't fit in." I could practically hear the little devil Naomi on my shoulder cheering for me (yes, my best friend is the devil on my shoulder). The little angel me just shook her head in disappointment. That was the first time I'd ever even come close to flipping out on someone.

Wow, pathetic, right?

Elrond glared at me, and Gandalf chuckled.

"Then it seems as though we have no other choice." The old man shrugged. "I am more than happy to take her to Gondor. I shall be on my way there, soon. It would be pleasant to have a traveling companion, for once."

"Then it is settled." The elf lord sighed. "Skylar shall be ready to leave by the time you are finished, here." He rubbed his head- because we all know I give him migraines- and left the room.

For an elf, that man sure can lose his composure quickly.

And at that moment, I had the first unawkward silence ever since I entered Rivendell. And what better person to share such a moment with than the man who just saved me from an eternity in elf land?

"Thanks, Gandalf." I smiled. "It really means a lot."

"No problem, dear girl." The old man smiled. "The elves can be a bit hard to handle for mortals."

Mortals. Goodness, what is it with this world?

* * *

><p>(Valerie)<p>

Okay. So I'm being strangled by a corset, this crowded ball room place is making me sweat, and I'm due to impress a guy right about... Now, actually!

So, Boromir's beautiful. Yeah, I'm sure that I'm not the only chick in Minas Tirith that has her eyes on him; he is the steward's eldest son, after all. But hey, my heart wants what it wants, and right now, it's craving some Boromir. I look pretty good, actually, despite the fact that my face must be purple from my lack of air.

"Good day, milady." Some random nobleman bowed to me as he was passing by.

"Good day, milord." I curtseyed back, and we went our separate ways.

That was such an average moment, here in Minas Tirith. The nobles were only there to look nice, it seemed, and I had suddendly found myself in that good looking crowd.

Well, when you put it that way, being a noble doesn't sound so bad.

But I wasn't a noble! I fell into this place by accident; back in America, I was no where close to being a noble. Maybe that's because the closest thing we have to nobles are government officials? And politics just aren't my style.

I strained my neck to see over the crowd of people, in search for the certain someone that I had no chance of getting.

Wow, I'm little Miss Optimism, aren't I?

Nariel was off dancing, like most young women; Mirima was off gossiping with the other noble mothers, no doubt plotting mine and Nariel's weddings right now; and Arthion was off with the manly men, talking about blood and gore.

This sounds so much like the parties back home.

After an unsuccesful attempt to find Boromir, I sighed and made my way to the banquet table. You can bet that I grabbed the biggest glass of wine I could find, and began to chug it down.

"The wine here in Minas Tirith is among some of the best, don't you agree?" A random man asked from behind me.

I finished up my wine and all but slammed the goblet onto the table. "You've got that right!" And I would drink a lot more, if this corset wasn't squishing my stomach and making me have to pee.

When I turned around, I really did about pee.

At first, it looked like Boromir, which is why I nearly peed. Then, after I got over the initial shock, I realized that this was not Gondor's finest, but the second finest.

Faramir. And he had the sweetest smile on his face.

"Oh, good day, milord." I curtseyed and expected him to bow back and leave, just as all of the other men have done.

Instead, he bowed, and stayed.

"Good day, milady. Are you new here?"

"Is it that obvious?" So what if I couldn't curtsey to save my life? I'm sure there are plenty of noble women who have the exact same problem as me.

Clumsiness.

"I simply have not seen you here, before." He shrugged. "Father makes sure that we are well acquainted with the noble families of Minas Tirith."

"Ah yes, father..." My eyes shifted towards the front of the room, where the steward sat in his high chair, surrounded by his servants. "I won't get in trouble for talking to you, will I?"

Faramir laughed. "Of course you won't. Why would you?" His eyes followed mine, and realization hit him. "Ahh yes, father's quite intimidating. You have nothing to fear, as long as you're careful."

Well that doesn't help.

A silence enveloped Faramir and I, and I resumed my previous scan of the room for his brother.

Still, no sign of him.

"Forgive me, madam..." Faramir brought me out of my unsuccessful search. "But it seems as though I've yet to get your name?"

"Oh!" I smiled and held my hand out to him. "My name's Valerie."

He took my hand and kissed it.

Yeah, he KISSED it.

Why don't guys in my world do that?

"It is a pleasure, Lady Valerie."

"Is this how every man in Minas Tirith greets a lady?" Maybe if I find Boromir, I can score a hand kiss?

My determination just got that much higher.

"Is such a greeting unusual, where you come from?" Faramir raised an eyebrow at me.

Ha! Dude, I'm lucky to get a 'hi,' let alone a kiss on the knuckles.

"You could say that..." I took his hand and gave it a firm shake. "This is how we greet each other in my country."

"In your country?" Faramir's eyebrows furrowed. "You are not from Gondor?"

Do I sould like I'm from Gondor?

Heck no.

"I just moved here, actually." At that moment, a certain someone walked into my sights.

Why hello there, Boromir...

"It's a story for another time, I suppose..." I curtseyed to my new friend and smiled. "If you will excuse me, my lord. It's been a pleasure meeting you!"

I kept my eyes on Boromir as I walked away from his little brother, my heart set on getting that knuckle kiss.

I'm such a creeper.

Evidently, God had other plans.

"Valerie, there you are!" Mirima grabbed my wrist and pulled me aside. "There are a few young men here who are just dying to meet you!"

I told you! She won't rest until I'm married and out of her house! No offense, lady, but you don't exactly know me well enough to be hooking me up with anybody.

As my stand in mother dragged me off, the handsome Boromir disappeared from my sight.

Ohh cruel world.

* * *

><p>(Naomi)<p>

"WHAT THE-"

"Rise and shine!" Eowyn grinned down at me. "The sun is up, and there is work to do."

I was drenched in icy cold water. Eowyn found it more than necessary to toss a bucket of water onto me this morning, when it would have been just as effective to simply nudge me awake.

There was this throbbing pain in my head, and I had the most uncomfortable feeling in my stomach, like I was about to puke.

I sat up slowly, rubbing my temple, trying to urge the pain away. Eowyn laughed at me as she threw me a towel.

"A bit too much to drink last night, dear?"

That was an understatement. Eomer took us out to the tavern and declared 'drinks for everyone!' Now, who would deny such a warm gesture?

I will openly admit that I have a problem! I lack self control in nearly every aspect of life. I can't keep my mouth shut, I eat too much (thankfully, I have a great metabolism), and I always act before I speak. Naturally, I'm going to have a problem saying no to a drink or two.

Or three.

Or four.

Heck, I need help. I've never drunk before. Remind me to kill Eomer for suggesting it.

"Here, drink some of this." Eowyn handed me a goblet full of some yellow liquid. "It will help soothe the pain."

"I don't need your meds, lady!" I swatted the goblet away.

"Excuse me?" My friend frowned. "You'd rather suffer than fix the problem?"

"I'm fine, Eowyn." I stood up shakily, but refused any help offered by Eowyn. "You're exaggerating the issue..."

She laughed and raised her eyebrow at me. "Am I? Well, then..." Eowyn walked to my window and opened its glass doors. "You won't be needing this, then..." She quickly dumped the goblet's contents onto the ground, and smiled victoriously. "It does not affect me; I was responsible last night, unlike some..."

Even though she was making fun of me, I was far too ill to even care.

"Get up, Naomi." My friend pulled me up from my bed. "Dry yourself off and get into some dry clothes, or you'll miss breakfast."

Ohh how the thought of food makes me sick.

I sluggishly pulled on a dry dress and towled my hair dry. I sincerely didn't know how I was going to make it through the day.

"Good morning, Theodred." Eowyn smiled as she and I sat down next to her cousin, who looked like he hadn't had a single drink the night before.

"Good morning, Eowyn, Naomi." Theodred raised an eyebrow at me as I sat haunched over the table. "Perhaps we should keep her away from the ale for a while..."

No kidding.

The doors to the hall opened, and Eomer stumbled in, looking like he'd just kissed a dead fish.

That means that he looked like complete and total poop, especially considering the face that he's super cute.

I see that I'm not the only one who got a little carried away last night.

"You too?" I asked when he sat next to me.

I was answered with a pained grunt, and Eomer laid his head on the table.

"Eomer refused to take the medicine this morning." Theodred laughed. "Honestly, what is the hurt in it?"

"Medicine is for the weak!" I groaned.

Seriously, mom. I don't need pain killers every time I have a leg cramp. That's the ultimate way to become a pill popper.

Eomer rolled his head to the side and smiled at me. "I like this woman. Eowyn, why haven't you brought her around, before?"

His sister rolled her eyes. "We explained this to you last night, Eomer. She's not from here."

"Nonsense!" Eomer grumbled. "Only a true Rohirrim could consume so much ale, and live to tell the tale."

I could already feel my cheeks begin to blush. I didn't mean to drink so much! It was just there!

"Do not blush so, milady." Eomer smiled. How can someone smile so much while hungover? "It was a compliment, I can assure you."

Awhhh shucks. If my skull wasn't throbbing, I'd hug him.

Eomer and I hadn't gotten the chance to actually _talk_ much. We were just two people who ended up partying together. It was kind of like college, only without the loud rap music and the grinding. Thank goodness for that!

I was actually getting really pumped about living here in Edoras. I mean, yeah, Grima Wormtongue is a super creep who likes to hit on young girls, but the people that aren't Grima or his croonies are amazing. We've got Theodred, super cool prince guy; Eowyn, super cool but super grumpy princess lady, who's just dying to get out of her shell; and we've got Eomer, now. He's the super hunk who I am developing a minor crush on. Hey, I'm stuck in a foreign land with no chance of getting home, and they've never heard of electricity. How else am I supposed to entertain myself? Getting drunk is out of the question, there's no doubt about that.

It felt weird, almost, having a good time without my friends. After all, we did just kind of... Die. Isn't death supposed to be... Bad? Especially when you can't find your friends. Oh well. There's not much to do for it, now.

"You two are going to be wishing that you drank your tonic." Eowyn stood up, an evil grin on her face. "Five of our workers are home with fevers, today. Someone needs to pick up their chores, and I know a few people who would be perfect for the job..."

Theoden practically flew out of his chair and took off, mumbling about 'princely duties.' Eomer and I weren't so lucky; our current well-being was not too... well. So we had no hope in escaping Eowyn.

"Brother, Naomi! How good of you to volunteer!"

"Ughhhhh..." I am going to die.

.

.

"How does this work...?" I stared at the awkward giant fork thingy, and then at the giant pile of hay in front of us.

"What do you mean, how does it work?" Eomer raised an eyebrow at me and turned to the hay. "You take some hay, throw it in the stalls..." He waved his arms around in crazy motions in an attempt to show me how this chore worked, but I really couldn't care less.

Eomer and I had volunteered to work together, patially to avoid Eowyn, and partially because most people don't want to work with two hungover people such as us. Our job for the day was to clean the royal stables, and neither of us were too thrilled about hanging around a bunch of horse poop all day.

"Eomer, I think you're doing it wrong..."

He looked at me as he chucked a bunch of hay into a random stall. "Naomi, I've been doing this my entire life. I'm quite confident in my work..."

"Yeah, well. You're wrong."

"Am I?" He leaned against a wall and yawned. "What do you suppose we do?"

My idea's quite genius, actually.

I fell face first into the hay.

It was silent for a moment as Eomer just stared at me.

Honestly, I'd never felt so comfortable in my life. Being extremely tired makes most anything comfortable.

"Is that it...?" Eomer asked after quite some time.

"Mmmhmmmm..." I yawned and rolled onto my back sleepily. "Goodnight."

Realization struck my new friend, and he quickly fell down right next to me.

"Eowyn's going to kill us if she finds us sleeping..."

"Yeahhh..." I sighed. "But it will be oh so worth it."

He laughed and sighed. "I know that we've only just met, but I am quite happy that you are here, in Edoras."

I opened one eye and studied him curiously. He was laying on his side, picking at the hay beneath him.

"Are you?" I asked.

"I am." He shrugged. "Eowyn seems happier, and Meduseld seems brighter. It's refreshing to have someone new here' someone uncorrupted by these dark times."

Well isn't he a sweetie?

"Thank you, Eomer." I gave him a small smile. "I'm glad that I'm here, too."

He smiled back, and closed his eyes to fall asleep.

"Goodnight, Eomer." I yawned and rolled onto my side.

"Goodnight, Lady Naomi."

* * *

><p>(Skylar)<p>

Finally! My last day in Rivendell. I was making my victory laps around the city, walking to places I'd never been to before, and enjoying the freedom that would soon be mine.

Rivendell really is a beautiful place, and I love nature, but I couldn't be happier to leave it. Gandalf was taking me to the land of men, soon, and life will soon be normal.

Well, as normal as possible, for the circumstances.

I stumbled upon a particularly beautiful balcony, with an amazing view of the waterfall.

How did I miss this balcony? It's fantastic!

I breathed in the fresh air and admired the view. Maybe when the elves are gone, I'll come back and claim this place as my own.

A cheerful whistling interrupted my thoughts , and I looked over to see an unusually small man.

"Human?" I cried, thinking that I'd just stumbled upon the first real human since my arrival in this world.

The old man looked up from a giant book, stunned. That's when I noticed his tiny, pointed ears.

"Old tiny elf?" I asked, my hopes destroyed.

The old man laughed and shook his head. "No, no, m'dear. I am a hobbit."

"A what?"

"A halfling, dear child." He smiled. "A little person."

Ohhh... So he's a midget. Gotcha.

"Well, a mortal's a mortal, and I happily welcome you into my mortal family!" I smiled and sat down next to him.

"Oh, thank you, my dear!" He chuckled and pat my hand. "I am Bilbo Baggins, of the Shire."

"Hi, I'm Skylar, and I'm from America!"

"America?" Bilbo's eyes opened wide. "I've never heard of such a place! It must be far away."

Pretty much.

"Skylar!" Gandalf called out for me. "Come on, it's time to go."

"But I just made a friend!" I frowned.

Bilbo chuckled. "So you're that human girl they've been wanting to get rid of. Well, I like you very much! You seem perfectly fine, to me."

Just my luck. The second I get a nice friend, I have to leave.

"I wish that I would've known you were here, Bilbo! We could have been great friends!" This old hobbit reminded me of my old grandpa back home.

"Not to worry, dear." He gave me a small hug. "Gandalf's a good friend of mine, you"ll have a great adventure."

Adventure... I like the sound of that.


End file.
